Banff Pain Conference: Pain Society of Alberta

Banff Pain Conference: Pain Society of Alberta

Join Shelly as she presents “Yoga as Therapy: Empowering Patients to Manage Persistent Pain & Live Well Again” at the Pain Society of Alberta’s 9th Annual Banff Pain Conference. 

Yoga is one of the leading Complementary and Alternative Medicine therapies in North America and its popularity continues to rise in our culture with over 20 million Americans practising it and over 44% of those not practising yoga, state they are interested in trying it. There are even new fields of study, Yoga Therapy and Medical Therapeutic Yoga, that are being introduced to medical college programs across the continent as growing research suggests that yoga can be used as an effective form of adjunct therapy for a variety of dysfunctions and diseases, including persistent pain. As health care practitioners who specialize or have an interest in treating the persistent pain population, we naturally inquire about the safety, efficacy and practicality of using yoga in the clinic setting.

Persistent pain is so complex that even with our understanding of phenomena such as neuroplasticity, the mind-body connection, and the biopsychosocial nature of pain, it is still poorly managed. Health care providers and sufferers of persistent pain continue to search for more effective methods of intervention that can reduce pain, increase functional abilities and improve overall quality of life.

In this session, Shelly will explain how and why yoga can be used to address different aspects of the pain experience safely, effectively and in an evidence informed manner and how it can be a successful tool to promote self-efficacy and empower people to develop the skills required to actively manage their pain.

Be prepared to participate and enjoy a mindfulness based breathing and focused awareness experience that you can immediately use with your patients in the clinic setting.

Learning Objectives:                                                                         

1. Describe yoga and learn what aspects of yoga can be used to effectively and safely treat the persistent pain population, including a review of current research on yoga for pain.

2. Learn the 5 components of the yoga kosha model of health that is used in assessing and treating people suffering from persistent pain and discuss the similarities to the biopsychosocial approach.

3. Learn an alternative approach to goal setting that involves 3 steps to help patients experience success in their pain self-management strategies.

4. Demonstrate at least 2 yoga techniques that can be used to help improve awareness, calm the nervous systems and modulate the pain response.

Life is Now Pain Care Yoga states: “Pain is one of the most common reasons for individuals to seek assistance from medical, therapeutic and yoga practitioners. Yet, few educational systems in western or eastern health care include knowledge acquisition related to pain or to the lived experience of pain. The techniques, discipline and systems of classic yoga are well-suited for integration with pain care and pain self-management techniques. A well-rounded yoga practice, incorporating any lineage of yoga asana, is one path that individuals can follow in their recovery from chronic pain conditions.”

Registration Details at: www.painsocietyofalberta.org